The Western is back, again. After it died. Prior to which it came back again.
As film historian and co-host of the How the West was Cast podcast, Andrew Patrick Nelson argues, journalists and historians love to write about the Western being dead just as much as they enjoy writing about its resurgence. However, this ebb and flow is part of a predictable life cycle that has kept the genre alive for over a century.
The origins of the frontier narrative on our public consciousness dates to 1845, when John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “manifest destiny” in an essay about America’s perceived right to expansion. As the Wild West came to an end and the frontier became settled, Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his “frontier thesis” in 1893. Turner hit on the binary conflicts that make the Western as a mythological place so engaging. The frontier, as he defined it,...
As film historian and co-host of the How the West was Cast podcast, Andrew Patrick Nelson argues, journalists and historians love to write about the Western being dead just as much as they enjoy writing about its resurgence. However, this ebb and flow is part of a predictable life cycle that has kept the genre alive for over a century.
The origins of the frontier narrative on our public consciousness dates to 1845, when John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase “manifest destiny” in an essay about America’s perceived right to expansion. As the Wild West came to an end and the frontier became settled, Frederick Jackson Turner introduced his “frontier thesis” in 1893. Turner hit on the binary conflicts that make the Western as a mythological place so engaging. The frontier, as he defined it,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animation legend Genndy Tartakovsky joins Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss his favorite silent sequences from great movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Apocalypse Now (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) – John Badham’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray reviews
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Birds (1963) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray reviews
Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Conan The Destroyer (1984)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Party (1968) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary
The Pink Panther...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Apocalypse Now (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) – John Badham’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray reviews
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Birds (1963) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray reviews
Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Conan The Destroyer (1984)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Party (1968) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary
The Pink Panther...
- 9/13/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
At long last a beautifully restored and mastered selection of a number of cartoon king Tex Avery’s brilliant, innovative and (most of all) hilarious MGM shorts comes to Blu-ray via the Warner Archive, with the implied promise of more volumes to come. Some of his greatest cartoons are included, and many of these shorts have likely not looked and sounded so good since their original theatrical release. This is a virtual godsend for the director’s legion of fans, and a worthwhile introduction for those yet unfamiliar with Avery’s uniquely zany oeuvre.
Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943-1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 138 min. / Street Date February 18, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Voice characterizations: Not credited onscreen, but voices include Bill Thompson, Frank Graham, Kent Rogers, Sara Berner, Daws Butler, John Brown, Wally Maher, John Wald, Patrick McGeehan, Dick Nelson, Don Messick, Billy Bletcher, Connie Russell, Tex...
Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1943-1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 138 min. / Street Date February 18, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Voice characterizations: Not credited onscreen, but voices include Bill Thompson, Frank Graham, Kent Rogers, Sara Berner, Daws Butler, John Brown, Wally Maher, John Wald, Patrick McGeehan, Dick Nelson, Don Messick, Billy Bletcher, Connie Russell, Tex...
- 2/18/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Make way for the ribald, very non-pc adventures of the GI doofus Private Snafu — demonstrator of the wrong way to do everything. This alternative-press edition of Snafu delights contains all of his adventures and more — they’re mostly animated by irreverent Warners talent. Some have rhyming dialogue and narration by Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss.
Private Snafu Golden Classics
Blu-ray
Thunderbean Animation
1942-1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 220 min. / Street Date November, 2015 (?) / 15.95
Starring: Private Snafu!
Presumed original music: Carl Stalling
Written in part by Theodore W. Geisel
Produced mainly by Leon Schlesinger
Directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin, Bob Clampett
I just learned a secret, it’s a honey, it’s a pip.
But the enemy is listening, so I’ll never let it slip.
‘Cause when I learn a secret, boy, I zipper up my lip!
Even us 1950s kids had to wait to find out about Private Snafu cartoons,...
Private Snafu Golden Classics
Blu-ray
Thunderbean Animation
1942-1945 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 220 min. / Street Date November, 2015 (?) / 15.95
Starring: Private Snafu!
Presumed original music: Carl Stalling
Written in part by Theodore W. Geisel
Produced mainly by Leon Schlesinger
Directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin, Bob Clampett
I just learned a secret, it’s a honey, it’s a pip.
But the enemy is listening, so I’ll never let it slip.
‘Cause when I learn a secret, boy, I zipper up my lip!
Even us 1950s kids had to wait to find out about Private Snafu cartoons,...
- 2/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bob Givens, the animator who officially designed the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, has passed away. The artist was 99-years-old, and he lived a very long and successful life who has left behind quite an incredible legacy. After all, he did help create one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time.
After givens worked on Disney's 1937 animated filmed Snow White and the Seven Dwarves he went to work alongside Chuck Jones and Tex Avery at Warner Bros. and that's where Bugs Bunny was born.
Givens also worked on classic TV cartoon series like Popeye the Sailor in 1960s and Alvin and the Chipmunks and He-Man during the 80s. Writing on Facebook, Professor of Animation at the University of Southern California Tom Sito talked about his time with Givens, saying:
I just heard from Mariana about the passing of her dad, animator Bob Givens, at the age of 99. Bob began at Walt Disney,...
After givens worked on Disney's 1937 animated filmed Snow White and the Seven Dwarves he went to work alongside Chuck Jones and Tex Avery at Warner Bros. and that's where Bugs Bunny was born.
Givens also worked on classic TV cartoon series like Popeye the Sailor in 1960s and Alvin and the Chipmunks and He-Man during the 80s. Writing on Facebook, Professor of Animation at the University of Southern California Tom Sito talked about his time with Givens, saying:
I just heard from Mariana about the passing of her dad, animator Bob Givens, at the age of 99. Bob began at Walt Disney,...
- 12/17/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
David here. There are many things about The Lady Eve we could discuss to celebrate its 75th anniversary today - it is, after all, one of Hollywood’s most perfect films - but there’s one particular delight that we’re treated to right off the bat.
Warner Bros. employed Leon Schlesinger’s animation studio - the masterminds behind the Looney Tunes cartoon - to craft the genius opening credits sequence starring the cheeriest snake you’ll ever meet. Even in these halcyon days where the credits came at the film’s beginning, the brevity of them meant you rarely got much beyond an ornate border. Here, though, the snake winding his way across the screen is practically a fully rounded character in himself - just witness his pure joy as he shakes his maraca, and his venomous indignity as he’s conked on the head.
With this minute and a half of introductory magic,...
Warner Bros. employed Leon Schlesinger’s animation studio - the masterminds behind the Looney Tunes cartoon - to craft the genius opening credits sequence starring the cheeriest snake you’ll ever meet. Even in these halcyon days where the credits came at the film’s beginning, the brevity of them meant you rarely got much beyond an ornate border. Here, though, the snake winding his way across the screen is practically a fully rounded character in himself - just witness his pure joy as he shakes his maraca, and his venomous indignity as he’s conked on the head.
With this minute and a half of introductory magic,...
- 2/25/2016
- by Dave
- FilmExperience
Happy birthday to everyone's favorite cartoon rabbit, who "officially" turns 70 today. Back on July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny made his debut in the Oscar-nominated Tex Avery-helmed short "A Wild Hare" (watch it after the jump). Though a similar rabbit character had appeared in a few Warner Bros./Leon Schlesinger cartoons over the prior two years, that little guy is mostly understood not to be an early incarnation of Bugs, whose biography claims he was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in 1940. At 70 years old, Bugs is apparently taking it pretty easy with his career, having appeared in little since the…...
- 7/27/2010
- Spout
Animation is a notorious boys. club. From the early days of Leon Schlesinger producing Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes for Warner Bros, to more modern days of Walt Disney and his mostly all male team of .imagineers,. today.s talent now includes young Ellen Jin Over, a Korean-born woman who came to the Us, mastered a new language, and with the right training and hard work, broke through to excel in this testosterone-filled creative arena. Retelling classic stories with the help of her colleagues over at Disney, Ellen has worked closely for years on the Tinker Bell collection for the studio with some extraordinarily talented men and women of one of the most expressive of all the art forms.
- 10/19/2009
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Pacific Title & Art Studio has been sold by holding company Safeguard Scientifics for $23 million to an investment group led by private-equity fund Celerity Partners, stage-venture capital firm Ticonderoga Capital and venture capitalist William Daniels.
Pacific Title president and CEO Phil Feiner, who had been with the company for nearly 30 years, has been dismissed, a move that stunned many in the industry.
Many who know Feiner describe him as synonymous with Pacific Title, a leading postproduction facility in Hollywood that was founded in 1919 by Leon Schlesinger of Warner Bros. Animation fame.
Feiner's projects included the creation of the company's digital imaging division in 1989. Last month, he and several colleagues were the recipients of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Engineering Award for the company's Rosetta digital film restoration process.
Feiner is a member of AMPAS' Scientific & Technical Committee, a member of the technology branch of the Academy, an associate member of ASC and its technology committee, an affiliate member of ACE, SMPTE and a member of Local 600 as a director of photography.
Pacific Title president and CEO Phil Feiner, who had been with the company for nearly 30 years, has been dismissed, a move that stunned many in the industry.
Many who know Feiner describe him as synonymous with Pacific Title, a leading postproduction facility in Hollywood that was founded in 1919 by Leon Schlesinger of Warner Bros. Animation fame.
Feiner's projects included the creation of the company's digital imaging division in 1989. Last month, he and several colleagues were the recipients of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Engineering Award for the company's Rosetta digital film restoration process.
Feiner is a member of AMPAS' Scientific & Technical Committee, a member of the technology branch of the Academy, an associate member of ASC and its technology committee, an affiliate member of ACE, SMPTE and a member of Local 600 as a director of photography.
- 3/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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